which mpp 15 inch to get

should i get the lower end or next model up with i notice difference in video cards from the 256mb to 512 mb

 

Most likely not. Get the cheaper one.

 

even with play wow i won't notice the more ram or video ram

 

512mb of Vram with the 9600GT doesn't do anything. Existing mid range video cards all have 128-bit bus and cannnot utilise 512mb of Vram. Its just a marketing gimmick.

 

2.53ghz version.

 

Save the extra cash, and buy a nice bag or go nuts on some sweet accessories!

-jb

 

My vote's for the lower-end MBP and add applecare and a nice case.

 

If you decide to get AppleCare, you can get it much cheaper off ebay (I got mine for ~$170).

 

Not for gaming, but I believe the argument is that if you do photo editing and such, the 512mb can store more and make it more readily available for editing large photos, like those in .raw, since the data is sitting right there and doesn't have to be continually retrieved.

Personally, I am pretty sure if Apple put the option there, it likely serves a purpose, although that purpose may not be used by everyone. Just like the matte screen on the new 17"...costs more, but I don't need it and others do...doesn't mean it's just a marketing gimmick.

 

Matte screen is a completely different thing altogether. Its actually useful and people have a need for it. HP, Dell, ASUS, you name it, all of them does this GPU thing with a stupid amount of Vram.

Why store the images in the Vram when you can just store it in regular ram? lol? In photo editing the ram, hdd and CPU gets used the most. Only recently in the newest CS4 is the GPU finally utilised. The GPU is only utilised in certain cases, and is not a crucial part of smooth running of the software.

It just fools people into buying things because OMG!!! a high number! must be better!!!!!!111!!!!1!!! Abit like the difference between the P8600 and T9400 CPU actually.

 

The 2.4 GHz model uses a newer-gen CPU that consumes much less power, also producing less heat - compared to the 2.53.

 

Don't get a MBP. I got one yesterday and too many problems. I think I'm returning it.

 

what problems are you having

 

oh yes, i buy things just b/c of that!

but if difference is minimal, lower end spec is always nicer to have due to longer battery life; besides the ultra uber glossy screen i really enjoy touching the new macbook/pro

 

I have had a late 2008 MBP almost since they were released. Mine was ordered from Apple on-line and arrived about 3 business days after I ordered it...specs are in sig. I have had ZERO problems with it (other than learning the OS X way of doing things after being a DOS/Windows user for 20 years...yep since DOS lol).

I am sure some folks have actually had problems, as most things have a 5% or so quality issue...but while under warranty isn't really an issue, other than inconvenience...at least for me with so Apple store within a few hundred miles.

I have been more than impressed with build quality, flawless software operations, installing/uninstalling bootcamp without issue to try Windows (didn't see any sense in keeping Windows on), great update system, etc.

 

And this doesn't seem to you like it's just the beginning and will be utilized more and more in the future of computing?

I am a firm advocate in future proofing as much as possible initially and NOT have to buy a new computer a year later to keep up...to each his own.

I will have a good laugh, however, if Snow Leopard does some wonderful GPU things when it's released...

p.s. To be honest, we all have machines way overpowered if all we were worried about was smooth running software. Hardware is light years ahead of software with one or two minor exceptions (Crysis, the game that became a computing benchmark, comes to mind).

I just don't think it's fair to off-handedly dismiss 512m VRAM when there ARE situations where it makes a difference...

 

wow,what a useful advice!mind mentioning some of your problems?

 

In a GPU with 256bit bus such as the higher end 9800m GPUs or Hd38xx GPUs yes its does come in to use and are alot better for playing games particularly at higher resolutions. But for midrange GPUs with 128bit bus, its useless.

Its like you have a pipe, water can only be transferred at a certain rate. You have a water tank supplying water through that pipe, doesn't matter if the tank is bigger, you can still only fit so much water through at a given time. It has been discussed to death in the gaming forum over the last 12months. There is no point making a case against it, it has been done enough times.

You can laugh how ever much you want, but the most of that 256mb out of the 512mb of Vram will never get used. Just telling you facts that have been proven here.

Read, there are plenty more for you to read, just search for it.

Some more

Happy now?

 

To OP...

I'd suggest doing some research on other sites before defaulting to the 512 VRAM with a 128-bit bus doesn't do anything at all...I think you'll find others who find it useful, especially when doing editing and when running multiple or external large monitors. Seems the position of mods here is that you can gain no benefit, no way, no how, from the 512 VRAM...but if you research it thoroughly, you'll find that there are benefits...just not for increasing all aspects of hardcore gaming, which most of us don't buy laptops for...

512 vram will help with:

Video/photo editing of large files
Multiple and/or large displays, minimizing performance hits
Anti-aliasing
And who knows what wlse in the future when software developer further perfect their craft...already useful in Adobe CS4 products and others will likely follow suit.

It's kind of like quad-core/oct-core processors...no real use for them now, but that time is coming...

 

can you give a link?

 

Get the low end one and buy it some ram. I had three of the high end ones, and I also sat around a lot with my friends unibody MBP which is the low end one. I couldn't find a difference at all. We both had 7200rpm drives and 4gig ram. Save the money and get the low end one.

 

Here is one to start...

http://www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_m_series.html

While there, read up on the following and will explain some of how that additional 256m of memory might be helpful...again, I freely admit not helpful much for gaming (maybe some anti-aliasing), but I think it is very helpful in other applications...

NVIDIA CUDA technology
CUDA technology lets consumers tap into the massive processing power of the GPU to make video and photo editing operations up to 20 times faster. Business professionals and designers can tap into CUDA as a personal supercomputer speeding up analysis from hours and days down to minutes. Learn More."

 

Its funny how that responses like that mostly will come from people that bought the higher end version not that there's anything wrong with it as long as you're buying it for the right reason.

And FYI, I'm not sure where you got photo information is stored in the VRAM but photshop is heavily based on CPU, and Hard drive, not the GPU. Put it another way, if I drive a 200HP car and you drive a 400HP car down the same 1 lane road during morning rush hour, will you get to your destination half the time as me? No, because the rush hour 1 lane (limiting factor being 128 bit) won't allow it.

The only benefit of the higher version is the tiny bump in CPU and L2 cache which will only make a small difference in certain apps. There will be no difference in overall computing other than less battery life.

 

LOL...works both ways, seems all those who vehemently are against having more VRAM own the 256 model. And yes, I intentionally bought the higher end model, for both the faster processor AND the extra VRAM, knowing that I would be taking advantage of both...would I have preferred a 9800GTX...yep, but not an option .

Anyway, a moot point cause I am done arguing against forum posters with no tech data (and links to other forum posts is not tech data). Ideally the OP will do his/her own research and determine what will work best for them based on why they are buying their laptop.

For those that choose to learn more about the subject, plenty of tech data out there on developer/benchmark sites and such, which is more than just the opinions of forum posters like myself and others.